Nucleic Acid

Question 1

What are nucleic acids?

Answer 1

One of the four groups of biological molecules

Polymers made up of monomers called nucleotides.

Question 2

What are the two types of nucleic acids?

Answer 2

• DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid)
• RNA (Ribonucleic Acid)

Question 3

What is the structure of a nucleotide?

Answer 3

• Pentose sugar
• Phosphate group
• Nitrogenous base

Question 4

What is the structure of DNA?

Answer 4

• Double-stranded
• 2 strands running in opposite directions- anti-parallel
• Strands are held together by hydrogen bonds between complementary bases
• Coil into a double helix

Question 5

What are the nitrogenous bases in DNA?

Answer 5

• Purines: Adenine (A) and Guanine (G)
• Pyrimidines: Cytosine (C) and Thymine (T)

Question 6

What are the nitrogenous bases in RNA?

Answer 6

• Purines: Adenine (A) and Guanine (G)
• Pyrimidines: Cytosine (C) and Uracil (U)

Question 7

What is complementary base pairing in DNA?

Answer 7

• Adenine (A) always pairs with Thymine (T)
• Cytosine (C) always pairs with Guanine (G).

A pyrimidine always pairs with a purine.

Question 8

What is the difference between DNA and RNA?

Answer 8

DNA:
- Double-stranded
- Contains deoxyribose sugar
- Thymine (T)

RNA:
- Single-stranded
- Contains ribose sugar
- Uracil (U)

Question 9

How do nucleotides link together?

Answer 9

• Phosphodiester bonds form between adjacent nucleotides in the same DNA strand
• Formed by a condensation reaction between the OH group on carbon 3 of one nucleotide and the OH group on the phosphate of the adjacent nucleotide

Question 10

What is ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate)?

Answer 10

• Phosphorylated nucleotide
• Consists of ribose, adenine and three phosphate groups

Question 11

How does ATP store and release energy?

Answer 11

Hydrolysis of the bond between the 2nd and 3rd phosphate releases energy

Synthesis of the bond between the 2nd and 3rd phosphate stores energy.